Gymnothorax

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Gymnothorax
Gymnothorax maderensis - pone.0010676.g007.png
Gymnothorax maderensis
Gymnothorax tile (Hamilton, 1822).jpg
Gymnothorax tile
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anguilliformes
Family: Muraenidae
Subfamily: Muraeninae
Genus: Gymnothorax
Bloch, 1795
Type species
Gymnothorax reticularis [1]
Bloch, 1795

Gymnothorax is a genus of fish in the family Muraenidae found in Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. With more than 120 species, it the most speciose genus of moray eels.

Contents

Gymnothorax as currently recognized is polyphyletic, and comparative studies are needed before action is taken to resurrect generic synonyms of Gymnothorax. [2]

Description

Species in this genus are slender (most skinny one being Gymnothorax gracilicauda) [3] as are most eels. They grow to 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m). [4] On the opposite end of the spectrum, some species only grow to a maximum size of less than 20 cm (7.9 in). [5] Many species have complex patterns, but many others are quite bland without much coloration on their bodies. [6] Moray eel species, inevitably applying to Gymnothorax owing to its high diversity, are often found in generally shallow-water habitats, but many species are also found in deep water, being more common in those enviroments than previously thought. [7] [8]

Like all moray eels, they have pharyngeal jaws. [2]

Species

Both FishBase and World Register of Marine Species recognize a total of 128 valid species in the genus. [9] [10] However, each database includes three species that the other does not list, which are noted in the list below.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 G. indicus, G. mishrai, and G. odishi are listed in FishBase, but not in WoRMS.
  2. 1 2 3 G. microspila, G. sagenodeta, and G. visakhaensis are listed in WoRMS, but not in FishBase.

References

  1. ↑ Jordan, David Starr (1926). "Opinion 93: Twelve generic names of fishes placed in the official list, by suspension of the rules". Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 73 (4): 5–11.
  2. 1 2 Smith, D.G. (2012). "A checklist of the moray eels of the world (Teleostei: Anguilliformes: Muraenidae)". Zootaxa (3474): 1–64.
  3. ↑ "Slendertail Moray, Gymnothorax gracilicauda". www.marinelifephotography.com. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  4. ↑ "Gymnothorax funebris". Discover Fishes. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  5. ↑ Böhlke, E. B. (1997). "Gymnothorax robinsi (Anguilliformes, Muraenidae), a new dwarf moray with sexually dimorphic dentition from the Indo-Pacific". Bulletin of Marine Science. 60 (3): 648–655.
  6. 1 2 David G. Smith; Sergey V. Bogorodsky; James Dandar; Uwe Zanjonz (2024). "A new species of short unpatterned moray eel (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) from the northwestern Indian Ocean, including the Socotra Archipelago, with a redescription of Gymnothorax pseudoherrei Böhlke". Zootaxa. 5477 (4): 465–474. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5477.4.4. PMID   39646069.
  7. ↑ Smith, D. G.; Brokovich, E.; Einbinder, S. (2008). "Gymnothorax baranesi, a new moray eel (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) from the Red Sea". Zootaxa. 1678 (1): 63–68. doi:10.5281/zenodo.180363.
  8. ↑ Bohlke, E. B.; McCosker, J. E. (2001). "The moray eels of Australia and New Zealand, with the description of two new species (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae)". Records-Australian Museum. 53 (1): 71–102. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.53.2001.1325.
  9. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Gymnothorax". FishBase . June 2016 version.
  10. ↑ "Gymnothorax Bloch, 1795". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Mohapatra, Anil; Kiruba-Sankar, R.; Praveenraj, J.; Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan (27 August 2019). "A new short brown unpatterned moray eel Gymnothorax andamanensis (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from Andaman waters, India" . Zootaxa. 4661 (1): 189–196. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4661.1.11. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   31716725. S2CID   202849896.
  12. ↑ Nashad, M.; Mohapatra, Anil; Varghese, Sijo P.; Ramalingam, L.; K, Bineesh K.; Mohanty, Swarup Ranjan (10 November 2020). "A new white-spotted moray eel, Gymnothorax aurocephalus sp. nov. (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from Andaman Sea, India" . Zootaxa. 4877 (2): 361–372. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4877.2.8. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   33311194. S2CID   228863906.
  13. ↑ Sithole, Yonela; Smith, David G.; Mwale, Monica; Gouws, Gavin (2020). "A Taxonomic Revision of Gymnothorax undulatus (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) in the Western Indian Ocean, with Description of A New Species". Zootaxa. 4767 (1): 161–181. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4767.1.7. PMID   33056577. S2CID   218992195.
  14. ↑ Prokofiev, A.M. (2010): Two New Species of Fishes from Families Muraenidae (Anguilliformes) and Mugiloididae (Perciformes) from the Waters of Vietnam. Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Journal of Ichthyology, 50 (8): 580-589.
  15. ↑ Mohapatra, A., Ray, D., Smith, D.G. & Mishra, S.S. (2016): A new species of elongate unpatterned moray eel of the genus Gymnothorax (Muraenidae: Muraeninae) from the Bay of Bengal. Zootaxa, 4150 (5): 591–598.
  16. ↑ Loh, K.-H., Shao, K.-T. & Chen, H.-M. (2011): Gymnothorax melanosomatus, a new moray eel (Teleostei: Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) from southeastern Taiwan. Zootaxa, 3134: 43–52.
  17. ↑ Ray, D., Mohapatra, A. & Smith, D.G. (2015): A new species of Short Brown Unpatterned Moray Eel of the Genus Gymnothorax (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) from the Bay of Bengal. Zootaxa, 4027 (1): 140–144.
  18. ↑ Mohapatra, A., S. R. Mohanty, D. G. Smith, S. S. Mishra and S. Roy 2018. Gymnothorax odishi sp. nov. (Muraenidae: Muraeninae), a short brown unpatterned moray eel from Bay of Bengal, India. Zootaxa 4420 (no. 1): 123-130.
  19. ↑ Loh, K.-H., Shao, K.-T., Ho, H.-C., Lim, P.-E. & Chen, H.-M. (2015): A new species of moray eel (Anguilliformes: Muraenidae) from Taiwan, with comments on related elongate unpatterned species. Zootaxa, 4060 (1): 30-40.
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